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Friday, 31 January 2014

One of the reasons why we started this series is because we knew that many of the people producing football blogs, podcasts and other online projects are thoroughly decent people that deserve to have greater recognition. A fine example of that is Al Gordon, the man whose passion for The Addicks is made manifest on his blog site God, Charlton and Punk Rock.If you like reading the words of a true football fan without all the acid-tongued vitriol of a blinkered, deluded ultra, Al is most certainly the man you should seek out. Not only that, but if you live in South London, he's exactly the sort of man to talk football with over a satisfying pint or two. A free tip that you'll thank us later for.If you're still curious to know more about Al, here's our Focus On profile to tell you everything you need to know...Full Name:Al Gordon

Favourite musicians:The Wedding Present, The Clash, The Style Council, old Jamaican Ska and some Northern Soul.

Biggest drag while working on your web project(s):Trying to make a club specific blog different every week due to such a high standard of competition.

Personal ambition:To one day write for a living. That, however, is unlikely so perhaps I'll aim for robbing a bank and retiring to a place in the sun on the takings.

If not in your current career, which job would you do?Anything that involved wearing a well-cut whistle.

Which person in the world would you most like to meet?If I had to host that food show where you have folks round to dinner I'd invite John Lydon, George Cole, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Partridge.

Favourite activity on a day off:Going to a football match. If it wasn't, I'd think you'd got the wrong man for this.

A very big thank you to Al Gordon for joining the esteemed ranks of our Focus On feature, and don't forget, if you've got a football blog, podcast or other project, you can take part too. Just visit our info page and fill in all your details - we look forward to hearing from you!Previously in Focus On:

Wednesday, 29 January 2014

As the dust began to settle on the 1966 World Cup, English football realigned its sights once again on domestic matters. For the top club managers in the land, it was time to stiffen the sinews and summon up the blood. Many knew that great success was within touching distance, whether it be in the League, cups or European competitions. Hope was in the air and for some it seemed only a matter of time before a piece of silverware was rightfully earned.

In the News of the World Football Annual 1966-67, Bill Shankly spoke of his team’s growing appetite for continental glory. Liverpool had reached the European Cup semi-finals at their first attempt in 1964-65 and followed it with a defeat in the final of the Cup-Winners’ Cup against Borussia Dortmund the following season. Now they were ready to try and go one better in the European Cup of 66/67 and Shankly was in confident mood.

“Not once in 1965-66 did we lose two successive matches” he said. “It was a testimony to the players that they bounced back after each defeat. And only 14 men were called upon in our 43 League and Cup fixtures; one of them, Bobby Graham, appearing only in the final game away to Nottingham Forest.”

The history books show that the increasing pressures on Liverpool’s minimal band of players resulted in a demanding and ultimately unsuccessful season for them. Their European Cup campaign started in stuttering fashion with a play-off win against Romanian side Petrolul Ploieşti, only to end in the Second Round with a thumping 7-3 aggregate defeat to a Johan Cruyff-inspired Ajax. They fared little better on the home front - 10 defeats led them to a fifth place finish in the League Championship, while their local rivals Everton ended their FA Cup run in the fifth round.

Bobby Charlton was similarly hopeful about Manchester United’s upcoming season. Having recently received the Footballer of the Year award, the England international was pleased at his personal fortunes, but less happier with his team’s exit from the previous season’s European Cup at the semi-final stage.

“Don’t let me beat about the bush” said Charlton. “Defeat by Partizan of Yugoslavia… was a shattering blow to United. After our great 5-1 Lisbon victory over Benfica, we felt it was our year - and that we could become the first British club to win the prize.”

Little did Bobby Charlton know that exciting times were ahead. The 1966-67 season saw Celtic become the first British team to win the European Cup while Manchester United won the First Division championship. That in turn allowed United to compete in the European Cup in 1967-68 and go on to become the second British winner of the trophy.

Tommy Docherty seemed less happy with his lot as Chelsea manager. His side were facing a season that for once didn't involve playing in Europe, although it wasn't for the want of trying. Beaten by Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup semi-finals the season before and thumped 5-0 by Barcelona in an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-final play-off, Docherty felt that his side were on the verge of greatness.

“Now the target for Chelsea in the months ahead is crystal clear. With a playing staff which I believe I have strengthened as the result of incoming and outgoing transfers, we must establish ourselves as England’s Number One club. And that means winning League or Cup, or both if it can be done.”

Yet again, Chelsea came close but not close enough. Though the 1966-67 season started badly for Docherty when Peter Osgood broke his leg in October 1966, Chelsea ultimately reached the FA Cup Final in 1967, but were beaten 2-1 by Tottenham. A ninth-place finish in the League completed another disappointing season for The Blues and in October 1967, Docherty resigned as manager. Ironically, most of the team he’d put together finally did win some silverware a few years after his departure and undoubtedly became one of the top clubs in the country around the turn of the decade.

The News of the World Annual once again provided a review of the previous season’s events in its ‘Football Diary’ feature. Here we get a tantalising glimpse into not just the world of football but British life in the mid-to-late sixties.

Before the 1965 season got underway, Fulham’s chairman and comedian Tommy Trinder received a £50 fine for “failing to give written undertaking not to repeat remarks he’d made on TV about referees.” Alan Ball, Nobby Stiles and Pat Crerand were also out of pocket before the World Cup-winning season. All three were fined between £75 and £100 “following incidents in Continental matches.”

At Manchester City it was all change as the Maine Road club appointed Joe Mercer as their new manager, shortly followed by his assistant, Malcolm Allison. Unable to play their part as the season started, however, were Gordon Banks who had a broken wrist, and Luton’s David Pleat who had a leg fracture. For one of them, a full recovery would be vital to England’s chances of becoming world champions. (Clue: It wasn’t David Pleat.)

In October, the first soccer match shown on closed-circuit TV took place as Coventry City’s fans watched their team’s match at Cardiff on four big screens erected at Highfield Road. Coventry played in the red and white striped shirts of Stoke to aid visibility for their fans watching 120 miles away. Coventry went on to win 2-1.

Hooliganism was on the increase with disturbances taking place at Manchester United, Burnley and Huddersfield, while in November, England’s 16-month unbeaten run of 10 games came to an end after a 3-2 defeat to Austria at Wembley. They became only the third team after Hungary and Sweden to beat England at home.

November 1965 was also the month when Brian Clough’s managerial career began as he took the reigns at Hartlepools United. The following month, future Northern Ireland boss Billy Bingham started his managerial career at Southport.

At the start of 1966, however, the worrying increase in off-the-field violence took a shocking turn for the worse as Everton manager Harry Catterick was “kicked and knocked down by young Everton hooligans following defeat at Blackpool.”

On the field, things weren't much better. In February 1966, a match between Leeds and Valencia in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup saw both teams dismissed from the field for 10 minutes after a “fierce brawl” as police intervened to bring the matter under control. After the match resumed, three players were sent off, one of which was Jack Charlton.

In mid-March, a flurry of transfer activity saw Manchester City sign Colin Bell from Bury for £40,000 after Mike Summerbee had arrived at Maine Road the previous August. Allan Clarke switched from Walsall to Fulham for £35,000 while Rodney Marsh travelled the short distance from Fulham to QPR for £15,000.

At the end of the month, the World Cup had been stolen while on display in London and found again a week later by a dog called Pickles. Where shock value was concerned, that was nothing - in early April, Bobby Moore supposedly wanted to leave West Ham and was ‘seeking a new club,’ according to the Annual.

Finally, as the season ended amidst further reports of hooliganism, sendings-off and other turmoil, it was time for awards to be handed out to the biggest achievers. Manchester City won promotion to the First Division, Liverpool won the League Championship, Everton won the FA Cup, and the Football Writers Association made Bobby Charlton their Footballer of the Year.

A season of highs and lows reviewed and another one eagerly anticipated by the News of the World Football Annual. Yet for all that, the book missed out on the greatest event of them all. Because of an early printing deadline, the World Cup of 1966 was regrettably absent from any of its pages. Ah, never mind. It’s not like England were going to win it or anything.

Friday, 24 January 2014

We like to showcase other people's memories here at the Attic (saves us a job for one thing!) and tot hat end, here's a fantastic article from James Welham recalling his collection of Pro Set Football Cards

A recent trip to the ancestral family home (my Mum's house in Essex) found me digging around the garage looking for some precious heirlooms. While no antique clocks or Picasso originals were found, I did manage to stumble across something even more impressive - the entire 1990/91 Pro Set Football Card collection.

Football cards you say? Not stickers? Are you American or something? Well, Pro Set were an American firm who, in the early 1990s, tried to muscle in on the likes of Panini and Merlin who dominated the football sticker market in the UK. The cards were designed to be displayed in plastic sleeves inside a binder so that you could see both the picture on the front and the player profile on the back.

Every top flight team featured at least 11 players, while, further down the leagues, the process was seemingly random with some teams getting three players and many none at all.

A number of things struck me while going through this collection. For one, the lack of players from outside the British Isles. A Romeo Zondervan here, an Erik Thorstvedt there, but essentially almost every player is from these shores. So much so that in the player profile for Sunderland's Thomas Hauser they felt moved to comment "It is rare indeed to find German players in English football".

Then there is the appearance of the players. Tattoos for starters; a red rose or military symbol on a forearm and that was it. None of your sleeve tattoos in 1990. Likewise facial hair - no stubbly little beards, just proper moustaches. Men's moustaches. I'm talking about you Tony Coton. And you Neil Pointon.

The kits haven't changed that much - even back in 1990 kits were made from 100% man-made materials and every team had a sponsor - although nowadays we no longer have to go through the mental torture of short shorts. Some of the kit makers are long gone though. Whatever happened to Spall, Ribero, Influence and Beaver? They may have been naff, but it was good to see a wide variety of kits rather than the all-pervasive templates that are to be found these days.

Many aspects of the collection were quite shabby. For example, the picture of Tim Sherwood - then at Norwich - is actually another player entirely. Andy Hinchcliffe was at Everton at the time, but his picture shows him in a Man City kit. All the cards were numbered and followed a logical sequence (Arsenal, Aston Villa, etc) but for some reason half of Derby's players are right at the end, along with a load of Division Four 'stars'.

There was also a tinge of sadness as I went through the collection. A number of featured players - Gary Ablett, Tommy Caton, David Preece, David Rocastle, Les Sealey, and Gary Speed - are no longer with us. Being reminded of these men, all of whom died far too young, was certainly quite poignant.

That said, it was great fun going through these cards. And the name 'Peter Shirtliff' gives me the giggles as much now as it did 23 years ago.

Thanks to James for sharing his memories there...if you'd like to share anything from your football memorabilia collection, drop us a line and let us know to admin [at] thefootballattic [dot] com

Sunday, 19 January 2014

It might not be the best-known or most-played football game, but Logacta has proven to be something of a revelation here on The Football Attic. Ever since I wrote about it back in February 2013, my article has been read by a slow, steady trickle of people all claiming to have played Logacta at a far higher level than I did.

The ‘Chart Soccer’ game, advertised in Shoot! magazine for many years, has a strangely addictive quality if you’re prepared to spend many an hour playing it. In short, competitions happen by randomly drawing teams and rolling special dice to determine match results. A cleverly formulated concept and a perfect pastime to while away dull weekends or unremarkable holidays.

Despite the mechanisms employed by Logacta to make its scores more realistic, the game essentially revolved around random number generation - and that set my memory racing. It suddenly dawned on me that around the age of 11 or 12, I went through something of a ‘random football’ apprenticeship.

It started when a few friends of mine and I created a game that would entertain us for an hour or so one dreary Sunday afternoon. It was essentially an FA Cup competition where we wrote the names of 32 Football League clubs on separate small pieces of card and then did the same with the numbers zero to five. The teams would go into one bag and the numbers would go into another.

Starting with the Fourth Round, we would draw out two teams to play each other, write the fixture down, then pull out a number for the home team score. Having written that number down, the number would go back into the bag, the numbers would be shaken up and another number would be drawn for the away team’s score (which was also written down). The whole process would be repeated for all the games in the round and every round in the competition until an outright winner was known, with repeat draws made if replays, extra time or penalties were needed.

Before you say so, yes, I know: there was plenty of potential for scorelines such as ‘Manchester United 0 Wrexham 4’, but at that age we allowed our imaginations to make an excuse for them. It was a ‘giant-killing result’, an instance of ‘the magic of the Cup’ weaving its magical spell on us.

Version 2 soon followed. Here, the number cards were replaced by result cards. This speeded up the whole process of completing a full tournament. Instead of drawing, say, a 1 and a 4, now you’d draw a ‘2-0’ or a ‘3-1’. It didn't make the scores any more realistic, but it was an example of my 11-year-old self seeing something unexciting and repetitive and figuring out how to reach a natural conclusion more quickly. (Saturday night TV schedulers in the UK - take note.)

Much later, version 3 finally arrived, and by then I’d not only worked out how to create more realistic results but also how to embrace the allure of European football. Unfortunately the improvements made in speeding everything up had to be abandoned, but I guess you can’t have everything.

I’d have been around 13 or 14 by the time this final version of the game came to light, but it was probably my best. I was now a regular buyer of World Soccer and could easily tell my Honveds from my Lech Poznans. The European Cup was now my tournament of choice, and for that I employed a deceptively simple, yet surprisingly accurate scoring system.

To begin with, all the matches for each round were drawn first. Once those had been written down, I then assessed each match and filled in a grid like this:

The way I did so was as follows. First of all, I had to think of a likely result that could actually happen if Liverpool ever played Sparta Prague - let’s say 2-0 to Liverpool (note: this would have been circa 1984). That result would have been entered in column 1 and column 7 as follows:

I would do the same for another likely result, this time entered in columns 2 and 6 and again for columns 3 and 5:

Finally, I’d think of one last unlikely, but still technically possible, result for column 4:

Having done that, I would then draw two numbers from a bag (which contained two sets from 1 to 7) and that would determine the final result. For instance, if I drew a 7 for Liverpool and a 2 for Sparta Prague, the final result would be 2-1 to Liverpool.

“Dear me”, I hear you cry - “What a long, drawn out (no pun intended) way of playing a fictional football tournament.” Well, yes, it was, but here’s the rub. Due to the fanatical way I used to absorb knowledge about European football teams and their current form back in the mid-80’s, I could more often than not determine the outcome of many real matches.

So let's say Celtic were due to play Athletic Bilbao. I’d be fairly satisfied that using the above method, I could tell you whether there would be a home win, an away win or a draw based on the data I entered into a grid like those shown in Version 3 above. Don’t ask me how - it just worked (most of the time).

Setting aside the fact that it would take an hour just to do the First Round (let alone the rest of the tournament), this turned out to be my crowning glory. Here was a game I could play alone or with friends, a game where my imagination and knowledge could be given free reign to combine with randomness to create an enjoyable fantasy world of football.

All of which begs the question: did you ever play random football with a pen and sheets of paper? If so, tell us all about it! Leave us a comment and share your childhood memories with us...

Monday, 13 January 2014

So having read our previous article about ITV's World Cup 78 magazine (you *did read* our previous article, didn't you?), it's possible you might be wondering what ITV's coverage of the 1978 World Cup might have been like.

Wonder no more. Here for your viewing pleasure is a nine-minute collection of clips showing exactly that. It's all a far cry from the TV presentation we know today, but there's still plenty to enjoy, so sit back and enjoy the video along with our guide to the best bits you should be looking out for.

0:00
ITV Sport's short-lived blue caption board gets us underway along with a bold, jaunty theme tune by the name of 'Argentina Action.' We can't help thinking that the music seems rather dated for 1978, but then again it is virtually a reworking of ITV's 1974 theme, 'Lap of Honour.' But we digress.

0:28
What about this, BBC?!! It's a studio set designed in the shape of the ITV Sport logo, for heaven's sake!!! You can keep your Frank Bough, thank you very much - THIS is what it's all about...

Yes we know it looks a bit odd, but you should see what it looks like from above. And they've even got the official Argentina '78 logo on the wall! Let's see your licence fee pay for that...

0:39
A quick look at the Scotland side due to face Iran in the second of three Group 4 matches. Ally McLeod's side had lost 3-1 in their opening fixture, so this was a crucial match for all concerned. Now if only there was someone on hand that knew what it was like to play for Scotland...

0:44
Oh look - there's Andy Gray! But why was he sitting in a TV studio in London rather than playing cards with Kenny Dalglish in a Cordoba hotel room? You'll have to ask Ally McLeod that.

Gray had been scoring goals by the dozen since his 1975 transfer from Dundee United to Aston Villa, but for reasons best known to himself, McLeod saw fit to leave him out of the 1978 World Cup squad. Ah, but this Scotland team would score bags of goals without him, surely? Anyone?

1:28
Somebody call Denis Norden! A bit of a cock-up here from Mooro as he talks about Austria's Walter Schachner who we scoo-saw-score against Spain in the opening title sequence. Stop giggling at the back, Gray...

2:20
They don't make captions like this anymore...

3:10
Note Brian Moore's easy-going style of conversation here. So laid back, so casual... his calm but knowledgeable manner is all that's needed to prompt Gray and Keegan into making some interesting comments about the game. Somehow other presenters come across as being a bit too deliberate by comparison.

3:52
Moore points out to Keegan that Sweden could throw on the talented Ralf Edstrom for the second half. Keegan responds by saying he's currently playing in the Swedish Third Division, although he's not entirely sure. No matter - no-one's probably all that bothered about minor details like that...

8:02
Brian Moore admits that the vast majority of Swedes living in the UK on June 7th 1978 contacted ITV Sport to point out that Ralf Edstrom was in fact playing First Division football for IFK Gothenburg. No need to apologise though, Brian - it was Kevin Keegan that made the mistake! "It's not very often we're wrong, but we're wrong again this time" says the SV Hamburg man, correcting himself immediately.

8:54
Time to wrap up, but not before a quick preview of the Scotland v Iran match being shown later that same day on ITV. Not only could you look forward to the return of Gray and Keegan, but also Pat Crerand too.

Who could possibly ask for more?

The Football Attic would like to thank Geoff Downs for allowing us to bring you this ITV World Cup 78 video.

Sunday, 12 January 2014

You’ve got to hand it to ITV. They knew an opportunity when they saw one, and when the 1978 World Cup came around, they realised they could make a bob or two from merchandise.

At least that’s the assumption. Having thumbed through the ITV World Cup 78 magazine, I couldn't find any evidence of a sale price anywhere. Was it ever available in the shops, or was this simply a piece of publishing hutzpah on the part of London Weekend Television?

Either way, ITV managed to do what the BBC didn't, namely to produce a tie-in magazine that would enhance the World Cup experience for young fans across the UK. Running to 64 pages, this was a bold attempt to educate and entertain in an admittedly formulaic fashion. Team guides? Check. Quiz? Check. Player profiles? Check. Match report sheets and recipes for all the competing nations… WHAT?!?!?

More on that later… Yes, the reassuring presence of Brian Moore was right there on page 3 to welcome everyone to the greatest football show on earth, and to remind everyone that ITV would be doing its bit to bring all the action to the small screen in your living room.

This being 1978, there was much talk of ‘images being beamed live via satellite around the world’ which, of course, was a terribly exciting concept 36 years ago. As Moore himself said, “you will see more of the World Cup… from your armchair in Glasgow or Gillingham, Edinburgh or Exeter, than you would in Argentina itself.” Brian Moore’s cheeky mention of his favourite team aside, it was a truth that nowadays we all take for granted. Watching a football match that’s being played nearly 7,000 miles away while you’re eating your evening meal? Nothing special…

The reference to Glasgow naturally reminds us that Scotland were Britain’s only representatives in Argentina, and there’s a slight sense of Moore and co. trying to convince us they’d been interested in Scottish football all along. Shorn of the privilege of being England-centric since 1970, they relied to some extent on their Scotsport commentator Arthur Montford to talk with some gravitas on Ally McLeod’s team, and that he did admirably.

Each of Scotland’s key players was given his own mini profile from Alan Rough in goal to Kenny Dalglish up front. The details provided for each were generally useful and informative with Willie Johnstone picked out specifically for having had a “stormy career” up to the date of publication. Little did Arthur Montford know how portentous that comment was to become during the final tournament.

On a wider scale, the magazine provided substantial outlines of all 16 competing countries, and yet again all were written with an emphasis on facts rather than waffle. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough emphasis on correcting many of the spelling and punctuation mistakes that were found throughout. A regrettable observation that was only partly balanced out by the eight full pages that the team profiles spanned.

In the late-1970’s, if you found Brian Moore, Kevin Keegan was never far behind. Though the former Liverpool striker wasn’t able to grace the 1978 World Cup with his own goalscoring talents, he was at least able to provide some insight into the likely fortunes of the West German team. At the end of a tough first season with SV Hamburg, Keegan was in a position to talk in some detail about the players who, it was hoped, would retain the World Cup for West Germany.

Reading through his assessment of Helmut Schoen’s team, Keegan appeared cautiously optimistic of their chances, and in retrospect, justifiably so. With no Franz Beckenbauer or Gerd Muller, West Germany were always unlikely to match their peak of 1974 and their results in 1978 backed up Keegan’s frank views before the tournament started.

“Some of the players have been thinking that all they have to do is pull on a German shirt” he said in relation to friendly defeats against Brazil and Sweden. In Argentina, West Germany drew four of their six games and won just once - a 6-0 trouncing of Mexico in the First Round. This was to be a rare low point in West German football history and one that this magazine wasn't entirely surprised to witness.

With seven pages devoted to a history of the World Cup [check] and a three-page reminder of England’s victory in 1966 (for those who’d forgotten that England were once that good), it just remained to provide sustenance for the belly rather than food for the soul. Yes, what better way to round off than to give readers five pages of recipes from each of the competing nations!

It’s not worth dwelling on why this was included. Instead, allow your lips to water at the prospect of Mexican Chilli Con Carne or Tunisian Cous Cous with Lamb. A Spanish Omelette had to be on your list of culinary delights throughout Argentina ‘78, while a tasty Black Forest Cherry Cake made for an ideal Austrian-style dessert. As for Scotland, Herrings in Oatmeal was the offering.

It’s just a shame that the recipe writers ran out of inspiration at the same time as Helmut Schoen’s squad. ‘Traditional German Dish’ was the provision on page 61, a rather drab name that luckily wasn't a reflection of this well-written World Cup magazine.

Friday, 10 January 2014

Football nostalgia, as we all know, is a joy and a delight for all of us that prefer The Beautiful Game the way it used to be. Yet for all the innocent pleasure it brings us, someone, somewhere is usually working hard and for little credit to maximise all the happiness we feel.One such person is David Poza Calderón. You may not know him by name, but you may well have seen the fruits of his labours, for David is the man who diligently compiles the On This Day videos that appear regularly on YouTube.If you love watching great goals scored during the 1960's, 70's and 80's, David's FootballGaffesGalore account is the one to visit often. Meantime, why not get to know David a little better by studying his Football Attic 'Focus On' profile...

Favourite blogs/podcasts:The Football Attic, The Goldstone Wrap and Who Ate All The Pies

Team(s) supported:Manchester City and Real Madrid

Favourite football player ever:Colin Bell (Manchester City)

Biggest thrill while working on your web project(s):Finding games from 40 years ago that few people have seen before

Biggest disappointment while working on your web project(s):Seeing that UEFA or FIFA blocks the videos because of copyright

Best countries visited:UK and Italy

Monty Python

Favourite food:Italian pasta

Miscelleaneous likes:Listening to vinyls and reading football books

Miscellaneous dislikes:Having to clean the house on Saturday mornings and lack of confidence with people

Favourite TV shows:Apart from Spanish TV, Have I Got News for You and Monty Python

Favourite actors/actresses:There are many in my list

Favourite musicians:Noddy Holder (singer of Slade) and David Bowie

Best friend:Rafael, from my hometown

Noddy Holder of Slade

Biggest drag while working on your web project(s):Thinking on what videos to do during the Summer

Personal ambition:Try to have a good work and a family

If not in your current career, which job would you do?Being a football journalist

Which person in the world would you most like to meet?Any player from the 70s or 80s

Favourite activity on a day off:Going to see my town team and having a drink with my mates.

Our grateful thanks go to David Poza Calderón for being the latest person to grace our Focus On feature, and don't forget, if you've got a football blog, podcast or other project, you can take part too. Just visit our info page and fill in all your details - we look forward to hearing from you!Previously in Focus On: